Dollar General: The Store for Rural America’s “Permanent Recession”

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The Dollar General Corporation, an American chain of variety stores, is headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tenn. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

There are 14,321 Dollar General stores in America. It’s a chain that many shoppers have never heard of, yet it has more stores than Starbucks. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Dollar General company is worth $22 billion—far more than the nation’s largest grocery chain, Kroger, which has five times the revenue.

Sadly, however, Dollar General is thriving because, as the Journal puts it, “rural America is struggling.” The chain builds stores where folks are down on their luck, where 20 percent of customers receive government assistance, and where even Walmart won’t bother doing business.

I phoned several Dollar General stores and learned that none sells fresh meat or produce; the grocery aisles feature mostly canned and frozen goods. Many products, such as soft drinks, come in mini-sizes to keep unit prices low. And few locations had newspapers for sale.

Maybe that’s just as well, because headlines these days report that the stock market is remarkably high and unemployment is surprisingly low. But for rural America, news like that doesn’t hit home.

Things are looking up in Donald Trump’s America, except, of course, where they are not.

The administration’s proudest accomplishment is a tax bill that benefits millionaires and billionaires. The Joint Committee on Taxation finds that the Senate version of the bill would increase taxes on all Americans making less than $75,000 a year.

As Paul Krugman summarizes in the New York Times: “Everything this president and this Congress are doing on economic policy seems designed, not just to widen the gap between the wealthy and everyone else, but to lock in plutocrats’ advantages, making it easier to ensure that their heirs remain on top and the rest stay down.”

In rural America, where about 46 million people reside, employment and economic growth have not recovered from the last recession at a pace seen elsewhere in the nation. Childhood poverty—perhaps the most critical metric in determining a population’s well-being—is considerably higher in rural areas than in urban centers.

The crisis facing rural America is rooted in the fact that peak-level employment related to natural resources, such as mining and logging, is never coming back.

Rural America is mired in a permanent recession. Its problems are difficult to correct because of a sprawling landscape, scattered government support structures and what often seems to be federal indifference.

Many among the predominantly white rural population voted for Trump in 2016—a sign, perhaps, of utter desperation rather than considered opinion. But according to recent reporting by Politico, Trump now intends to make the most sweeping changes to federal safety net programs in a generation, using legislation and executive actions to target recipients of food stamps, Medicaid and housing benefits.

What the rural poor need is greater federal assistance, not less. They would welcome jobs such as repairing the nation’s infrastructure, which Trump campaigned on but doesn’t mention much these days.

As things stand, you don’t need a degree in economics to predict rural America’s future. Just consider: By this time next year Dollar General expects to have nearly a thousand more stores.

Peter Funt grew up in New York where he worked summers on the set of his father Allen Funt's television show, Candid Camera. He graduated from the University of Denver, earning his Bachelor of Arts in mass communications and journalism. He’s worked for the ABC Radio Network, the New York Times and various other media organizations.

More by Peter Funt

I thought the same thing about DG - no fresh food, very inflated prices - and this was definitely true when it was my local store in 2012. But I was surprised to visit a new Dollar general in rural-ish Kansas last Thanksgiving - it was really a grocery store, with all the standard meat, dairy and produce you'd see at a regular grocery - and prices were competitive for groceries, merchandise including OTC medicines, and for gas. Ironically, it opened in a spot Wal-Mart opened - and quickly closed - a "Neighborhood Market" a few years back.The only variable - the more expensive DG I frequented five years ago is much more rural - 25-30 miles to a Wal-Mart with nothing in between - whereas the new one is only about 12 miles past suburban Wichita.

Posted by Chezna Warner on 2018-01-10 15:06:03

Greetings: I was raised and lived in the city. Then moved to very rural poor area. The author is quite accurate in a lot of ways. Our DG is across the street from a new Family Dollar. They often come in pairs. Our DG does carry milk, eggs, bread, and various necessities. Both are all over rural areas in Texas, and they do a pretty good business and serve a need for the people. It would be very interesting and enlightening if the author did a similar investigation on "services" in rural area ... examples: Medical care, employment agencies, mental health treatment, Good article!

Posted by Joe Miller on 2017-12-30 10:16:12

Peter Funt, "many shoppers have never heard" of Dollar General? Well you certainly must live in an upscale part of America. Not only are they in rural areas they are in my city as well. I don't know anyone around here who hasn't heard of at least one Dollar chain.

Posted by Lee Conrad on 2017-12-28 16:42:18

I've lived in the rurals.

You keep chickens at least, that way you have something to do with leftovers other than plow them into the garden, and you always have eggs. If you've got any land at all you raise sheep or goats, that takes care of a lot of your meat needs. Geese or ducks work out well too.

I'm assuming "frozen" means you can get bacon and things like that there. As for veggies, you can produce your own; at least keep collard greens going just about year-round.

You should not be drinking sodas so who cares what sizes they're sold in? Same goes for chips, candy, essentially junk.

What bugged me about living in the rurals is, no work for half the year, tending the animals and garden becomes your part-time job, and frankly it seems like 90% of the people probably think Trump would make a great president if he weren't so "gat-danged left wing".

Posted by alex carter on 2017-12-27 15:35:01

Think you're funny, fool? I live in rural PA and I not only have to buy at Dollar General, but they just opened up a Dollar Tree, which is even cheaper. There are no decent jobs out here unless you're lucky enough to work for a fracking company. And all that's done is price the poor out of rentals. Trump and his minions are killing us and you remain an idiot supporter.

Posted by sharonsj on 2017-12-21 14:14:40

How long did you write for SNL?

Posted by James McMullen on 2017-12-19 20:07:22

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This blog’s mission is to make the issues that rural America is grappling with part of national discourse. more